Jessie, James, and Meowth

In the anime, Jessie, James, and Meowth have several mottos, saying one of them in nearly every episode when they reveal themselves to Ash and his friends. Early on, they had an irresistible urge to say it whenever hearing the word "trouble", but this seemingly has been left to the past. This motto would usually be said by all members of the trio, but when one of them is not present, another member takes their line.

Note that the lines "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" and "To extend our reach to the stars above!" were often said by both Jessie and James in the first season. In many later episodes, James said "fight, fight, fight" instead of just the singular "fight" at the end of his last line. Wobbuffet also began saying his name at the end of the motto in Tunnel Vision, and has done so in most episodes since. There were many occasions in which they would use a radio or something else to play the background music.

Since the episode Team Rocket was introduced in, the duo has been rhyming "prepare for trouble" and "make it double" phrases. Also, in almost all episodes after the Orange League, they tend to alter the first two sentences to match the current situation. An example from ZigZag Zangoose!, in which Jessie was training Seviper and Meowth filled in for her, is:

Meowth: Prepare for trouble, here in the wood...

James: ... and make it double, like you know that you should!

This version of the motto was used in commercials for Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen with each line being said by different children, omitting the parts at which Jessie, James and Meowth say their own names and the line "Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light." This motto was also adapted into the songs Team Rocket Forever and Double Trouble

Team Rocket used this motto in A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine, as a return to their "hip and cool" ways, done by only Jessie, James, and Meowth, without the usual ending additions of Wobbuffet and Mime Jr.

This motto was also used in Alola, Kanto!, where Team Rocket had followed Ash and his classmates to Kanto during their extracurricular activity.

Since the first episode, they have adapted their traditional rhyming phrases "Prepare for trouble" and "Make it double" into the motto, thereby restoring the first two lines of the original motto. James's Chimecho and Mime Jr. also contribute their names at the end of the motto in most episodes they appear in.

James: Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!

ニャース:我らこの地にその名を記す

Nyarth: Our names will be remembered in this place!

Meowth: Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!

ムサシ:情熱の破壊者 ムサシ!

Musashi: Destroyer of passion, Musashi!

Jessie: The fiery destroyer, Jessie!

コジロウ:暗黒の純情 コジロウ!

Kojirō: Pure heart of darkness, Kojirō!

James: And with thunderous emotion, I am James!

ニャース:無限の知性 ニャース!

Nyarth: Infinite intelligence, Nyarth!

Meowth: Wisest of the wise, Meowth!

All:さあ集え! ロケット団の名のもとに!

All: Come gather! Under the name of Team Rocket!

All: And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!

"*" denotes the phrase Jessie copies when they are about to announce their motto.

Best Wishes! Season 2: Episode N and Best Wishes! Season 2: Decolora Adventure!

In New Places... Familiar Faces!, Jessie, James and Meowth reverted to their original motto with some slight alterations, after having failed in their latestoperation and making a brief retreat back to Kanto. Starting in Adventures in Unova and Beyond, the motto is altered to the situation.

As James was under the trance of Gastly, he was not present with Jessie and Meowth when they encountered the twerps, and Jessie was left to say most of the motto herself. However, James later reacted to hearing the motto, and made his whereabouts known by saying his last three lines.

In this episode, Team Rocket starts to sell fake Badges to Trainers in the Indigo Plateau. Near the end of the episode, they realize that they are much more successful selling stuff than when they are stealing stuff. At some point, Meowth says that they will eventually open a fast-food restaurant. This leads to the following dialogue:

Jessie: That's not a bad idea. We can call it "Jessie's".

James: "James's".

Jessie: Want a burger and fries without trouble?

James: If you are really hungry, make it double!

Jessie: To protect the world from hunger and thirst.

James: Our food isn't bad, at least not the worst.

Jessie: The Team Rocket Restaurant blasting for a bite.

Jessie and James: We stay open all day, we stay open all night!

This variation is a heavy variation of the usual motto and sounds like a restaurant motto.

In this episode, Meowth, being hit by Squirtle's Water Gun, flies up and falls on an island where a strange tribe that worships Meowth lives. Almost in the end of the episode when Meowth feels lonely and says he misses Jessie and James, they both appear and recite a special version of their motto for Meowth. At the same time, the tribal priest and high priest beg Meowth to stay with the tribe.

In this episode Jessie and James try to imitate The Black Arachnid, a well-known burglar. Upon breaking into a rich mansion and seizing a valuable trophy, they introduce themselves to the stunned witnesses with the following motto.

In this episode, Ash challenges Bugsy of the Azalea Gym. During the battle, Team Rocket tries to dig a hole underneath Pikachu. While they are excavating, they start dreaming about the bonus that they will receive from their boss. During the beginning of the motto, they recite it without the usual music and stopping the words in the syllables.

In this episode, Jessie and James try to steal all Pokémon in the Pokémon Swap Meet using a fake trading machine. After all the Trainers have discovered that their Poké Balls are empty, they try to get them back from Team Rocket. After this, Team Rocket recites a simple variation of their motto:

This motto was recited by Jessie and James after they had confused some wares at a food store with free samples and had been caught by a saleswoman.

Jessie: Now you're in for a bunch of trouble!

James: We're eating lunch, so make it double!

Jessie: To eat and drink to our hearts' content!

James: Without even having to spend a single cent!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of paying for food!

James: We won't leave a single sample unchewed!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: James!

Jessie: Team Rocket loves scarfing down free samples at the speed of light!

James: Yes, and we like to eat even more than we like to fight!

Meowth: You got that right!

This episode is also notable due to the fact that Team Rocket did not shout out their usual "blasting off" phrase in it, even before disappearing in the Magnet Train tunnel although the shining star did appear.

In this episode Team Rocket breaks into a castle that later appeared to be a hospital, where Pokémon were used to treat people. Upon stealing some food from the dining room and trying to get away, Team Rocket was caught by Dr. Anna and Brock.

In this episode Jessie and James enter a Pokémon Beauty Contest, pretending not to be members of Team Rocket (they even forbid Meowth to talk). Because they want to be the first to show their Pokémon in order to make a better impression on the judges, they lock up the first contestant and appear on the stage instead of him. A small delay happens due to this.

Jessie: Sorry we're late, it takes a while...

James: ...to give our Pokémon flare and style!

Jessie: We hope our Pokémon will amaze all of you!

James: We're giving each one a look that's brand new!

Jessie: We're creating a trend and it's gonna be big!

James (combing a wig on Jessie's Wobbuffet): And this doesn't even look like a wig!

Jessie, James and Meowth recite this motto upon being caught by other Team Rocket members while trying to sneak into a Team Rocket's secret base thinking it were a farmhouse, where they could find something to eat.

Jessie, James and Meowth recite this motto as they steal Egan's Poké Ball with his freshly caught Magcargo. For some reason they are dressed up as baseball players (maybe because Egan demands that they return his Poké Ball).

In this episode, Team Rocket recites this simple variation of their motto after they appear in disguises of a man and woman by a haystack and tell Ash he is being a "goody two-shoes", and Ash demands to know who they are.

Team Rocket begins reciting this motto after launching their new Pokémon-sucking machine that creates a blast.

Ash: This can't be just a storm, can it?

Jessie and James laugh

Jessie: Prepare for trouble, we're here to inform,

James: Make it double, we're the eye of the storm!

Jessie: To protect the world from devastation!

James: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Jessie: To denounce the evil of living well enough alone!

James: To extend our reach and make these Pokémon our own!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: James!

Jessie: Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

James: Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!

Meowth: Meowth, that's right!

Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!

Good version

In The Power of One, when Team Rocket decides to help Ash, they use a different version of their motto. This was in the dubbed version only, as the original Japanese version had them do their regular motto.

Jessie, James and Meowth recite this motto when Ash and Romeo find out that they have stolen Juliet's Illumise. While reciting this motto, Jessie and James are dressed up as Illumise and Volbeat, respectively.

In this episode Jessie can't register in a Pokémon Contest, so she tries to steal May and Savannah's Ribbons. James and Meowth aren't really in the mood to Jessie's evil plans, so they recite their lines with low emotion.

Savannah: Hey, those aren't yours!

Jessie: Prepare for trouble, they are today!

James (unmotivated): If you can't win them, steal them, that's what we always say!

Jessie: To protect my entry status from devastation!

James (unmotivated): To allow a certain contestant to complete her registration!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of losing, that's true!

James (unmotivated): To extend her winning streak from 0 to 2!

Jessie: Jessie!

James (unmotivated): And James!

Jessie: Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

James (unmotivated): Surrender now, do me a favor or I'll have to fight!

In this episode the main antagonists temporarily split up, only to get reunited in the end of the episode. During the time they were split, Jessie teamed with Butch, and James joined Cassidy and Butch (even though Butch never was with them). During the experience, both teams tried to recite a motto, which really didn't work because neither could remember the correct version.

Cassidy's and James's motto

Cassidy: Prepare for trouble, it's a brand new day!

James: We're making it double anyway!

Mime Jr.: Mime mime, mime mime mime!

Cassidy: Let's see if I can remember my lines! An evil as old as the galaxy!

James: Sent here to fulfill our destiny!

Cassidy: To denounce the goodness of truth and love!

James: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Cassidy: Whenever there's a piece of pie in the universe...

James: Of pie?

Cassidy (stopping the motto): Aaah... I goofed it, so what!?

James (despairing): Forget it...

Jessie's and Butch's motto

Jessie: Prepare for trouble, we've shuffled the deck!

Butch: It's not my thing, but what the heck!?

Jessie: An evil as old as the galaxy!

Butch: I'm doing this all from memory!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

Butch: To extend my arm with a big white glove!

Jessie (angrily looking at him): Jessie!

Butch (realizing that his previous line was somewhat idiotic): Aaah, Butch...

Jessie (kicking him in the face): Cut! Do it right or don't do it at all!

Jessie and Meowth are angry about losing the dress-up competition and they plan on stealing the Pokémon Egg that's the prize for the winner of the competition, and when they interrupt James and Mime Jr. were in the middle of their performance, and they were both bummed out about getting interrupted so when James and Mime Jr. do their parts of the motto they show little emotion.

Jessie: That growling of Growlithe once filled us with fear.

James (unenthusiastic): Though who growls louder is not all that clear.

Jessie: On the wind!

James (unenthusiastic): Past the stars.

Meowth: And in your ear!

Jessie: Bringing chaos at a break neck pace!

James (unenthusiastic): Dashing all hope putting fear in it's place.

Jessie: A rose by any other name's just as sweet.

James (unenthusiastic): When everything's worse our work is complete, and how much worse can it get?

While Ash, Dawn, and Brock are at the store buying groceries, they leave their Pokémon on the steamboat, and while the Pokémon are on the steamboat alone, Team Rocket shows up dressed as entertainers and puts on a show for the Pokémon with some lines from the motto mixed in along with singing.

All (singing): Left, right, twist, turn, feel the beat, feel the burn, don't just stand there like a schlup, you can do a whole lot more. Shake that thing one two, shake your things three, four. I listen very closely, but no twerp voice do I hear which means the time is right without a fight the fiendish coast is clear.

Jessie (speaking): The wind!

James (speaking): And the stars!

Meowth (speaking: Straight in your ear!

All (speaking): So let's get those booties busy!

Jessie (speaking): Are we having fun yet?

James (speaking): We will be the minute you find the groove and start to move!

Meowth (speaking): Pokémon are supposed to rock the house. You're in the house.

All (speaking): So let's rock!

All (singing): Sing it left and sing it right plié and do-si-do because the time is right to have some fun the twerps will never know, yo! Left foot left kick show them how it's done! Rock the place with style and grace and fun, fun, fun! Ready set let's get jiggy! Party down and let's get wiggy!

Meowth (speaking): And now for the big pay off.

Jessie (speaking): It's time to enter the super tunnel of fun.

James (singing): March, march, keep in step, trust me this is worth a schlep.

Jessie falls asleep during the motto due to Hippopotas's Yawn, so James says her parts sounding like her while moving her body.

Jessie: Listen, is that a twerp I hear?

James: Obnoxiously loud and clear!

Jessie (sleepily): On the wind!

James: Stars!

Meowth: In your ears!

Jessie: Bring chaos at b- (falls asleep)

James: Uh-oh. Dashing hope, putting fear in its place! (Imitating Jessie) A rose by any other name is just as sweet. (In his voice) When everything's worse, our work is complete! (Imitating Jessie) Jessie! (In his voice) And it's James!

Meowth: Meowth, now that's a name!

James: (Imitating Jessie) Putting the do-gooders in their place! (In his voice) We're Team Rocket...!

Jessie is angry at losing the Hearthome Collection Contest, but James is upset with Jessie for ruining his accessories—and not a happy camper making him very unenthusiastic during the motto (even the music is turned off during his parts):

Jessie: You know you could use a little makeup to!

James (unenthusiastically): Please, a pompous platitude coming from you...

Jessie: On the wind!

James (unenthusiastically): What's the point?

Meowth: Yoo-Hoo!

Jessie: Bringing chaos with a breakneck pace!

James (unenthusiastically): Wow I'm so excited. Can you tell by my face?

Jessie: A rose by any other name's just as red!

James (unenthusiastically): I knew that I should've stayed at home in bed.

Meowth filling in for Jessie or James

This section is incomplete.Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Lyrics.

On many occasions, because Jessie or James weren't around, Meowth would fill the missing member lines. This first happened in Island of Giant Pokemon, when Meowth, along with Ekans and Koffing, were separated from Jessie and James. When they discover Ash's Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, who were separated from their Trainer as well, Meowth attempted to recite the motto, but failed because Jessie and James weren't around. In The Stun Spore Detour, where Meowth and James were following Misty to get some Salveyo Weed to heal Jessie from an attack by a wild Vileplume's Stun Spore. It happened again in ZigZag Zangoose!, in which Jessie was training Seviper, and James, Meowth and Wobbuffet tried to steal Ash's Pikachu. Later, in That's Just Swellow, Jessie and Meowth tried to steal the losing flying Pokémon almost at the end of the Contest, and because James was still participating on it, Meowth and Jessie said the motto all by themselves. In The Saffron Con, meanwhile Jessie was at an operation room, Meowth and James tried to steal some Pokémon. When Ash and his friend saw them, they said a special motto. Also, in Off the Unbeaten Path, while James was participating in the Pokémon Orienteering Contest, Jessie and Meowth tried to steal the prize and some Pokémon. When they were spotted by his friends, they said their motto. Meanwhile, they were saying that, Ash and his friends saved the Pokémon and the prize, leaving Jessie and Meowth really angry. In Bonnie for the Defense!, Jessie and Meowth said the motto together, surprising Ash and his friends while they were escorting a lost Lapras back to the ocean. James's absence was later explained by him being waiting further ahead, ready to catch the group off-guard in case they got away.

Jessie was at a contest, so James and Meowth had to say the motto, and steal Ash's Pikachu again.

Meowth: Prepare for trouble, cause we're stealing Pokemon and having a ball!

James: Make it double, that's all!

Meowth: Evil as old as the galaxy!

James: Sent here to fulfill our destiny!

Meowth: Just look at me!

James: To denounce the evils of truth and love and extend our reach to the stars above! I'm James!

Meowth: And I'm Meowth!

James: Whenever there's peace in the universe, Team Rocket!

Meowth: Will be there!

Both: To make everything worse!

Butch and Cassidy

Butch and Cassidy also have a set of mottos, which are similar to Jessie and James's mottos. In The Breeding Center Secret, it is implied to be based on Jessie and James's motto, though in Pikachu Re-Volts, they state that theirs is actually the correct version. During Pokémon Chronicles, they add "(now) here's our mission, so ya better listen!" after Butch's first line of their version of the "original" motto. Like Meowth and Wobbuffet, Cassidy's Raticate appears at the end. Apparently, they have switched to a new motto, which is itself similar to Jessie and James's Sinnoh motto, with Butch's Shuckle appearing instead of Cassidy's Raticate.

Original motto

Japanese

Translation

English

ヤマト：何だかんだと聞かれたら

Yamato: If you ask us this or that...

Cassidy: Prepare for trouble...

コサブロウ：答えないのが普通だが

Kosaburou: We usually don't respond

Butch: ...and make it double!

二人：まあ特別に答えてやろう

Both: But we'll make an exception this time and answer!

Both: Here's our mission, so you better listen!

ヤマト：地球の破壊を防ぐため

Yamato: To prevent the destruction of the Earth!

Cassidy: To infect the world with devastation!

コサブロウ：地球の平和を守るため

Kosaburou: To protect the peace of the Earth!

Butch: To blight all people in every nation!

ヤマト：愛と誠実な悪を貫く

Yamato: To stand by evil with love and sincerity!

Cassidy: To denounce the goodness of truth and love!

コサブロウ：キュート でお茶目な敵役

Kosaburou: The cute, mischievous villains!

Butch: To extend our wrath to the stars above!

ヤマト：ヤマト

Yamato: Yamato!

Cassidy: Cassidy!

コサブロウ：コサブロウ

Kosaburou: Kosaburou!

Butch: And Butch, of course!

ヤマト：宇宙を駆ける ロケット団の二人には

Yamato: The pair from Team Rocket soars through the universe!

Cassidy: We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!

コサブロウ：ショッキングピンク桃色の明日が待ってるぜ

Kosaburou: Shocking pink, a pink tomorrow awaits us!

Butch: Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!

Sinnoh motto

This is the version used in Sleight of Sand. Because of some of the lines included, it was probably composed especially for whenever the two Team Rocket groups crossed paths.

Ripoffs

Copycats...

...Ditto these two.

The motto has been ripped off repeatedly by Ash and his friends during the series. The first time it was done was in Bye Bye Butterfree, in which Ash, Misty and Brock entered the house where Team Rocket was by breaking the windows and by saying the first lines of the motto. In Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, Ash, Misty, and Brock, along with Duplica, put on Team Rocket uniforms and mocked the original motto, with Duplica severely angering the two by saying "ignite" instead of "unite". In Holy Matrimony!, James's parents revealed that they weren't dead by saying the lines "Prepare for trouble!" and "Yes dear, and make it double!".

The director Cleavon Schpielbunk used a motto to introduce himself — "Prepare for trouble! No stunt double!" — with Jessie saying, "Wait a second, aren't those our lines?" after the first two lines.

In It's Mr. Mime Time when Ash revealed that he was the one in the Mr. Mime costume, the Team Rocket background music was playing. The motto was mockingly mimicked again in The Chikorita Rescue!. In The Mother Of All Battles!, the Pokémon Poacher Brothers introduced themselves to Ash and the gang in a Team Rocket-style motto. However, there was no background music like in the Rocket's introduction; instead, they only said their names with a big "B" behind them. But even though it was different, Jessie stated that they were just imitating them. Much later, the DP motto was mocked in Mass Hip-Po-Sis and The Keystone Pops!. Like the many times before, the trio was angered.

Blasting off

Team Rocket's blasting off again!

When defeated, and sent flying off due to a Pokémon's attack (usually Pikachu's Thunderbolt) or a malfunction in their mechas, Jessie, James, and Meowth usually cry, 「やな感じ！」 ("What a bad feeling!") in the original, which was dubbed "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!", "Team Rocket's blasting off again!", or simply "We're blasting off again!"* before disappearing into the distance with a twinkle. The first time they blasted off was in their debut episode, and the first time the twinkle was seen was during their following blast off, in Clefairy and the Moon Stone. In some episodes, they said their catchphrase while finishing each other's sentences or when it's told by one character or two.

Blasting off usually happens only one time per episode, but there have been many occasions in which it has happened multiple times, especially in Malice In Wonderland!, in which they are shown blasting off four times on screen, and heard to blast off many more times offscreen. Another occurrence when they blasted off more than once was in Noodles! Roamin' Off!, but this could be because the episode focused on Team Rocket. In A Faux Oak Finish!, James blasted off by himself. Butch and Cassidy have also "blasted off"; however, James noted once that he, Jessie, and Meowth had copyrighted it in Off The Unbeaten Path.

Sometimes, when Team Rocket blasts off, they shout something other than "We're blasting off again!", such as in Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit! when instead they shouted "We're blasting off family style!", or A Battle by Any Other Name!, where they shouted "There's nothing sweet about blasting off! AND WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN!!!". There are also occasions where they do not blast off per se, but they disappear with the trademark twinkle by other means such as running away. In some very rare instances, they blast off without a twinkle, as seen in their debut, The Island of Illusions! where they fell into the sea instead, Tracey Gets Bugged, where they get their hair and fur cut short by a Scyther, or To Find a Fairy Flower!, where they were relaxed by a Flabébé's Aromatherapy.

Starting from Loading the Dex!, rather than blasting off, Bewear would unexpectedly appear and take the trio away; Jessie, James, and Meowth would cry, 「何この感じ！？」 ("What's with this feeling!?") in response, which was dubbed as "Off with a new blast!". In To Top a Totem!, they were about to blast off, only for Bewear to jump into the air and catch them before the 'ping' sound. They Might Not Be Giants! was the first episode where the trio successfully blasted off without interference, although Bewear was able to catch them before they hit the ground.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the "Rocket" in Team Rocket is apparently their motto, which is an acronym for:

Raid

On

City

Knock out

Evil

Tusks

When translated from Japanese, this motto means 'Attack cities one after another!! Devastate them!! We are the fangs of evil!!'.

In every one of Butch's appearances in the original series' English dub, he was the one who said the opening line "Prepare for trouble!", which is usually said by the female character. In The Breeding Center Secret, Butch, along with Cassidy, said "Prepare for trouble and make it double!". In Pikachu Re-Volts, he was the one who began the motto showdown by saying "Then prepare for trouble!". In The Fortune Hunters, he said alone "Prepare for trouble and make it double!". In The Mystery is History!, he said "Prepare for trouble, you got that right!". The last time he did this was in A Parent Trapped!, in which he said "It's time to prepare for trouble!". In Pokémon Chronicles, the motto was dubbed with the Cassidy saying the first line like how it is was in Japanese.

In the Sinnoh motto, Jessie's section of "A rose by any other name is just as sweet" alludes to Act II Scene II Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet argues:

What's in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;

In the Unova motto, Jessie likens herself to Reshiram with the words "white" and "fiery", while James likens himself to Zekrom with "black" and "thunderous".

The first two lines of the motto were mentioned and said by the Fortune Teller as a warning in an episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, a show that was also dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment (and also based on a Nintendo franchise). The episode the Fortune Teller appeared in was "The Fofa Factor".

In the European Portuguese dub, the expression "Preparar para azar!", the Portuguese equivalent to "Prepare for trouble!" (which literally translated is "Prepare for bad luck!") is still used in recent episodes as a Team Rocket's catchphrase, even during some mottos.

In the Korean dub of the Sun & Moon series, the expressions "화안류오 수월폐화", "비룡승운 영자삽상", and "일련탁생 연대책임", which are direct hanja to hangul translations of the Japanese motto, are given explanations at the bottom of the screen due to the difficulty in understanding these phrases.

Toward the end of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Trainer Video, the original motto is recited by various kids. It omits "Prepare for trouble; Make it double," and Meowth's name, and the kids make various mistakes before correcting themselves.